UFC Sydney: Kampmann chokes one out of the bag

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In the Main Event fight from the UFC Sydney event, Martin Kampmann and Thiago Alves went into this bout with the MMA community split on who would take the honours on the night.

In the cage, it was much of the same as the bout went back and forth, with both fighters trading flurries of punches and kicks, waiting for the other to make a mistake.

Kampmann looked to be controlling Alves at the beginning of the round, however Alves was able to gain the upper hand by taking him down late in the first and dominating to win that round. It was the opposite of what many expected, with Alves dominating on the round, while Kampmann was striking well.

Round two started off with Alves looking comfortable, trading with Kampmann for the remainder of the round and looked to be in his zone. A cut opened up on Kampmann’s face late in the round and he appeared to be bleeding from most parts of his head as Alves got the better of him.

Round three was a now or never effort for Kampmann; the judges’ scorecards giving Alves the first two rounds.

Kampmann suffered through continuing barrages, moving forward through Alves’ punches and taking him on the chin. When Alves attempted to take the fight to the ground, Kampmann seized his opportunity; Alves left his (admittedly short) neck unguarded and the Dane cranked on a swift guillotine choke submission. Alves tapped to win at 4:12 of round three.

What does this mean for both fighters?

For Kampmann this is his second straight win. After a period of unlucky and close decisions ‘The Hitman’ called out Carlos Condit

Will he get this fight? Not anytime soon. Jake Ellenberger should at least get the next shot, and Kampmann may be looking at fighting Jake Shields again, who is coming off a win in Japan to decide where

For Alves, this is his fourth loss in six fights and while he won’t be cut, his chances of challenging for the welterweight title have evaporated. Perhaps a bout with the loser of Koscheck and Hendricks or even Akiyama is on the cards.

Martin Kampmann is the real deal! I knew it when I saw him fight Diego “Pasilla o Sueno” Sanchez. Martin got robbed that night when the judges saw fit to award Diego the victory for effectively smashing Martin’s fists, elbows, feet and knees with his face so hard that he caused blood to come out of his own ear and nose, both eyes were black, blue and red, his eyes were puffed up and nearly closed, blood was all over his scalp and in his hair, and he sustained numerous bruises and abrasions all over his face! Good luck in the future Martin!

Interestingly Dana White mentioned at the post-fight press conference that this was a record fight night gate. It certainly wasn’t packed out for the first fight however really did consistently fill-up until the main card.

It was a great card at the end of the day, we witnessed some great submissions and TKO victories and some really really close fights!!